Good Things To Come!

It has been an unusual year so far to say the least, first off I am feeling much better after my last post which I stated that I had shingles and that Gecko Quilts would be in a holding pattern until further notice. During the time off I was able to get a lot of handwork done. I finished all of the embroideries for my Hocuspocusville quilt, yea!!!! But the quilt still needs to be assembled and quilted. I will share the pics at a later time. I also was working on a 1/2" hexie scrap lap quilt, still a work in progress.

With this time off I had a lot of time to think about Gecko Quilts and it's future (if it had one or not).

I have been conflicted the past 2 years and seriously was thinking of getting out of the business. When I started this business in 2005, (hard to believe it's been almost 10 years now) My husband & I had no idea what we were doing or what we were in for. But after relying on our gut instincts and by the help of God to guide us we have built a great business that has always surprised us. We have been fortunate to have a faithful customer base that keeps on growing and for this I am very thankful for. The reason why I have been conflicted was because well I didn't know which direction I wanted to go in...if at all. Well it seems like God has pointed me in a direction that makes sense and is quite doable.  I am going to be upgrading my long arm machine! Yup, which means Gecko Quilts will be around for another 10 years or more :0)

I am upgrading my longarm with a 14 foot "Bliss System" table, and "Quilt Path"!!!!

 What does this mean for my customers, & what will the difference be & when will this all go into effect?

The advantage of this upgrade will be...

1) Larger table (I currently have a 12 ft table and will be upgrading to a 14 ft table) allowing me to be able to quilt those extra large king size quilts that I have had to turn down in the past. I believe that there have only been a few 14ft tables available in this area before, which will be more convenient for my customers.

2) The new Bliss System table will allow my machine to move effortlessly and will require less cleaning/ maintenance allowing more time for quilting!

3) Quilt Path is the computerized portion (yes I will have a computerized machine!!!!!). This will allow me to offer more variety of patterns to my customers, or more complex patterns. The final product will be more consistent through out. Not to mention less time and fatigue on me. It also means I will be able to offer more pantos because they will be in digital form on the computer instead of the paper form that I currently have. Also when I order new ones it will be a simple computer download instead of waiting the 7-10 days for the mail man to deliver them.

I am hoping that I will be able to launch a "Grand Re-Opening" of Gecko Quilts in January 2015 with a brand new website (similar to what we had before but web hosted by Go Daddy. It will once again have a large variety of pantos to choose from on line. I am also planning on selling packaged batting in the new year as well, either Hobbs or Warm and Natural or maybe even both. I am also looking into offering quilt backs for sale too in the future. I know that variety of wide quilt backings in this area is slim so I am hoping to fill that void a bit.  I also plan on offering variegated thread as an option for a fee instead of just the solid thread colors......These are just a few changes I will be making over the next few months. Oh, I almost forgot....there will be new specials and offers available as well, this is what helped build Gecko Quilts into what it is today and it will be part of it's future as well.

I am so excited for this new chapter for Gecko Quilts as well as a clear view of it's future, I no longer feel conflicted and am ready to kick up the business to the next level!!!